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100 years old and still running for records

Centenarian&nbsp;Fauja Singh is competing in Sunday&rsquo;s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in
an attempt to land a Guinness World Record.

Fauja Singh is 100 years old. He is also a runner and plans on breaking several Guiness World Records in the run-up to the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday. (RICHARD LAUTENS / TORONTO STAR)

By Laura StoneStaff Reporter

Wed., Oct. 12, 2011

He’s a long-distance runner whose own coach concedes is not as fast as he used to be.

Then again, Fauja Singh, no relation, was 89 years old when he started competing in races. And now he’s 100.

“I am but a simple man,” Singh the competitor, a Sikh with a long white beard who only speaks Punjabi, said in a translated statement. “I give it my best shot and it happens that the results are better than others.”

The centenarian, who lives in the United Kingdom by way of India, is ready to compete in Sunday’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in an attempt to land a Guinness World Record.

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He’s already set three records for men over 90 — one for 10,000 metres, which he completed in 64 minutes in the Lahore Marathon in 2005; and two in Toronto, for a half-marathon in 2004 (2 hours 29 minutes 59 seconds) and a full marathon in 2003 (5 hours 40 minutes 1 second).

Now he wants one more record in his century-old age.

“I always wanted to be the oldest marathon runner and said to myself that if an opportunity presented itself, I will not turn it down,” said Singh.

He chose Toronto because it is where he had his best showings before. Plus, the people “seem more accommodating of other cultures than some other parts of the world where the Sikh appearance is wrongly prejudged.”

While Singh is here, he’s hoping to smash — or in his case, due to the lack of competition, simply create — some other records, too.

The 115-pound runner who stands 5-foot-8 is set to compete in eight track races on Thursday beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Scarborough’s Birchmount Stadium.

Singh wants to raise money for local charities, including Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation, which is run by children and youth to help other kids meet basic needs.

The plan for Sunday is to complete the full 42.2-kilometre race — something Singh hasn’t done since he was 92.

“I will not want to quit and certainly not in a middle of a race,” said Singh, who, by the way, cares for a cup of tea about 32 kilometres in.

“I just keep going knowing that every step I take I am getting closer to the finish line — standing around is not going to get me there.”

Let’s just get this out of the way: he doesn’t have a secret. He does exercise daily (a 12- to 16-kilometre run, to be specific), follows a diet of modest proportions (toast, tea, Indian chapati and curry), and maintains a positive outlook for a stress-free life.

His coach says Singh started running when he needed a “new focus” on life after moving to Britain when his wife and son died about 20 years ago.

But still. 100.

“In the Punjabi language, there is no such word as impossible,” said Singh the trainer.

At an age where having a healthy mind is itself a feat of strength, Singh the competitor is in remarkable — borderline miraculous — physical shape.

His trainer points to a bone density test done last year when the runner was 99. Singh’s left leg was found to have a density of a 35-year-old; his right leg had that of a 25-year-old.

“His response was, ‘I knew my left leg was weak,’” recalls the coach.

The centenarian runner hasn’t completed a full marathon since 2004. The previous year he had both his best (Toronto) and worst races, which happened at the New York City Marathon. There, the injured 92-year-old completed the race in a gruelling 7 hours and 35 minutes.

After Toronto, Singh plans on running four shorter races, including ones in Frankfurt and Hong Kong. His 52-year-old trainer, also a runner, hopes the two of them will be among 8,000 torchbearers in the London 2012 Olympics.

As for Sunday, Singh’s coach has no concrete goals. But he guarantees one thing.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t exert himself.”

Times to beat

Centenarian Fauja Singh will run in eight races on Thursday morning. In order to set a record, times to beat are:

5,000 m: There is no record. (“He can take it easy and still set a record,” his trainer said.)

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